Premiership Rugby is to continue with talks with the Rugby Football Union on Christmas Eve in a desperate attempt to find a solution for shambles over next season's European competitions.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the plan for a Heineken Cup without England, announced earlier in the month, is now dead with claims the French board (FFR) overplayed its hand in regards to the governance of the tournament. It seems negotiations are back on and that may well favour the English clubs.

The FFR insisted the competition come under the governance of Fira, the administrative body of European rugby, instead of European Rugby Cup, and it is now thought it is coming under mounting pressure to drop those demands.

However, talks between English clubs and the four Welsh regions are continuing and if that comes to fruition, as seems more likely, then the expanded Premiership would leave few windows for any European competition.